A WINTER WISHLIST

I really enjoyed creating an autumn wish list and so I thought I would create a little winter wishlist too! Here's a few things that I think would be perfect for the festive season and that are at the top of my wishlist for winter:

Topshop Velvet Lace Playsuit: Its the lace detailing on the back of this that made me completely fall in love with this mulberry coloured playsuit. I can imagine wearing it with black tights and heeled boots to Christmas parties or festive gatherings. 

Chanel Camelia De Plumes Highlighlighing powder: This is a stunning, platinum, iridescent highlighting powder that would be perfect to wear on Christmas day!

Kate spade notebook: I love this little gold notebook, perfect for writing lists and keeping notes over the festive season.

Nars Satin Lip Pencil in Majella: I've got my eye on this garnet Nars lip pencil after reading so much hype about them. I think this cool-toned red would look so great over Christmas.

Asos pieces Midi ring: I've may have caved and already purchased this ring! It's just recently arrived and its such a pretty, dainty ring. It fits me as a standard ring rather than a midi ring which I actually prefer and I've been wearing it non stop!

Dior Diorific Vernis Smoky Nail Polish: The bottle of this Dior nail polish is just stunning and the colour looks like such a great winter berry shade. 

What's on your wishlist?

A FESTIVE TOUCH

After seeing the Coca Cola advert on tv last weekend I've decided to completely embrace the fact that its now nearly Christmas. Michael Buble has been playing in the background whilst I've been baking festive treats and slowly adding festive touches to my make up routine. Heres a few things that Ive added to my make up bag:

thebalm Mary Lou Manizer: This highly pigmented champagne highlighter adds a beautiful glow to your skin. You only need such a small amount brushed over your cheekbones, on your brow bone and on the inner corners of your eye to give a beautiful shimmer that's so lovely for the festive season.

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash Eyeshadow in Champagne: I bought this eyeshadow a while ago as I read that the Make-up artist used this on Katherine in the Vampire Diaries. I'm already so in love with season 6 and so pulled this out to wear. This eyeshadow is a pretty shimmery champagne colour which is quite sheer so I like to wear this as part of a brown smokey eye, or just on its own for a shimmery wash of colour over the lids if I'm wearing a bold red lip.

Mac RiRiwoo lipstick: Very similar to MAC Ruby Woo, this cool toned matte red is the perfect winter lipstick. I wore this last year in my festive decorating video, it's long lasting and gets me so excited for Christmas when I wear it!

L'Oreal Mono eyeshadow in 205 Sable Lame. This stunning shimmery light gold eyeshadow gives a touch of festiveness to my make up and lasts well on my eyes. These L'Oreal eyeshadows are so buttery and pigmented, see a full review and swatches here.

MAC Mineralize Blush in Gleeful: Aptly named, this wine coloured blush is perfect for the colder months. You only need such a small amount for it to add a long lasting beautiful rosy red glow to your cheeks.

Nails inc Chelsea Square: I'm already breaking out the glitter nail polish and Nails Inc Chelsea square is such a pretty rose gold glitter that is great for the run up to Christmas.

Are you excited about Christmas already?

THINGS THAT MADE ME HAPPY THIS WEEK #6

Monday: Waking up extra early to get a good start to the week, eating hot croissants smothered in melted butter whilst watching the sunrise.

Tuesday: A fairy-lit evening spent in cosy pj's laughing along to episodes of Friends.

Wednesday: Blasting out Michael Buble's christmas album and planning warming winter meals. So far I've got: creamy winter vegetable & spinach lasagne, butternut squash rosemary & goats cheese puff pies and cinnamon & nutmeg spiced baked rice puddings!

Thursday: Planning a weekend shopping wishlist full of red lipstick and glittery Essie nail polishes (the ones in the photo are Essie A Cut Above and Essie Stroke of Brilliance) whilst catching up on the Vampire Diaries.

Friday: Wearing a beautiful new Nars blusher that I got for my Birthday - Nars Dolce Vita I'm so in love with it already and it's the perfect Autumn/Winter shade! 

What has made you happy this week?

MAC REBEL LIPSTICK

It's been such a warm autumn that I'm glad the days are starting to get getting colder now. MAC Rebel lipstick has been on my lips almost every day, it's the perfect autumn berry lipstick and great for the transition into winter.

I'm really surprised at the lasting power of MAC Rebel, most lipsticks wear off me quite quickly but this lipstick lasts me a good 3-4 hours and then leaves a pretty berry stain on my lips making it such a great lipstick for blustery autumn days spent sipping festive hot chocolates.

I've learnt to apply a good lip balm (usually Nuxe Rev de Miel) to my lips before applying MAC rebel as it can feel quite drying on the lips due to it being such a long lasting formula. It's fast becoming one of my all time favourite lipsticks as it's so versatile - it can be worn straight from the bullet as a vampy berry lip, patted on slightly and blended out with your finger for a more natural hint/berry stain or you can add gloss to make it a high shine bold lip. My favourite way to apply it is to just pat a small amount on the lips and really blend it out with your finger for a pretty berry lip stain. 

Have you tried MAC rebel?

AUTUMN/WINTER MAKE UP TRENDS

As mentioned in my Spring/Summer make up trends post, I love to see the make up that is on trend and then try to incorporate a more wearable version into my make up routine. Some of the trends are going to be perfect for the festive season and I've been really enjoying wearing them throughout autumn.

Ethereal Gold & Silver metallics: A metallic eye with golds, silvers and winged liner was the focus of the Chanel A/W 2014 look and a strip of silver liner was applied in Dior to the upper lids. I think that shimmery gold or silver eyeshadows look great applied lightly all over the lids and then blended out before adding winged liner. I love the Maybelline colour tattoo in eternal gold and eternal silver as they are easy to apply with your finger as a base or as a subtle shimmer to the eyes, they blend out really easily and add a festive touch to your make up. They also look pretty blended under the eye.

Berry stained lips: Although eyes and skin were the main focus in A/W 2014 make up, berry stained lips also featured. MAC rebel is perfect for this look as you can pat the colour onto your lips and then blend in with your finger. This gives a pretty, stained effect that lasts ages on the lips.

Contouring and highlighting: Skin was cleverly contoured and sculpted to give an almost mannequin effect to the skin on the catwalk. The Sleek Face Contour Kit* is perfect to lightly sculpt and contour your face for everyday make up. The contour side is matte and the perfect shade of brown which isn't muddy or orange. Both the contour and highlighter are pigmented and easy to blend, you only need a small amount of product to really make your cheekbones stand out.

Metallic Olive greens: Pat McGrath created a stunning make up look for Dior using liquid latex with pigment pressed on top in blue or green. Natural Collection eyeshadow in Moss Shimmer is a beautiful shimmery olive green with slightly golden tones which looks beautiful blended all over and under the eye. You can see me wearing this look here.

Long lashes: Eyelure have some top and bottom lashes which are great to wear for this look or layering up on your favourite mascara (Mine is still the L'Oreal Miss Manga mascara) will give you a more natural, fluttery long lashes look.

Which is your favourite trend?

BONFIRE NIGHT NAILS

I've been a bit wary of bonfire night ever since a rogue firework burnt its way through the audience when I was younger. The booming explosions echoing through the skies and the thick smog that's left behind means that I always approach fireworks night with an air of caution. This year, behind the safety of our balcony, we plan to watch the glittering skies whilst eating foil wrapped baked potatoes loaded with butter, salt and cracked black pepper.

I've painted my nails in honour of the occasion with Maxfactor Prussian Blue and glittered tips for the fireworks. For the tips I chose five of my favourite glitter nail polishes - On my index finger is Models Own Southern Lights which is a stunning lilac holographic glitter, on my middle finger Barry M Magenta Glitter, my ring finger Barry M Blue Glitter and Nails inc Electric Avenue on my little finger. I painted the glitters onto the tips of my nails before sealing them with Sally Hansen Insta Dri. I really love this effect and feel like its perfect for fireworks night!

What are your plans this bonfire night?

OCTOBER MONOCHROME FAVOURITES

Following on with the colour theme, I thought that monochrome would be good for October as it seemed to fit well with Halloween. Here are my October favourites:

Kiehls Ultra facial cream: This is a lovely, rich moisturiser that sinks into the skin quickly, keeps the skin hydrated and in great condition. I'm literally scraping the last of this out of the pot now and I'm torn as to whether I should repurchase or not as it contains parabens which puts me off slightly. I've written a full review here, it's the best moisturiser that i've used and on the days that I don't use it I really notice a difference to my skin. If anyone knows a good paraben free alternative then I would love to know!

Etsy black cat sleep mask: This is such a cute, silky soft little sleep mask. I don't always wear a mask to sleep but lately as the mornings have been a bit lighter I pop this on if I wake up early and it really blocks out the light and helps me get back to sleep. It was also great to add a halloween touch during October!

Barry M nail paint in matte black: I used this nail polish to create my black cat nail design last week. The effect looked really good on my nails, matte and almost leather like which was perfect over halloween. It also lasted really well and was a nice change from having glossy nails.

Eysilix Eye Cream: I bought this after Caroline Hirons blogged that this was practically every eye cream that you've tried with added peptides. This helps to reduce dark circles, fine lines and keeps the eye area feeling soft and hydrated.

MAC 150 brush: This is my every day bronzer and contour brush. The slightly tapered end sits perfectly in the hollows of my cheeks and it's the perfect size to sweep bronzer over my temples and on my jawline. I've had this for over 4 years now and have used it almost every day in my make up routine. The only downside I've found with this brush is that it sheds when being washed so you have to be quite gentle with it.

SEPTEMBER BROWN FAVOURITES/AUGUST FUCHSIA FAVOURITES/JULYS CORAL FAVOURITES/JUNES GREEN FAVOURITES/MAYS GOLD FAVOURITES/APRILS BLUE FAVOURITES/MARCH MINT FAVOURITES/FEBRUARYS ORANGE FAVOURITES/JANUARYS PINK FAVOURITES